Role Reversal
by Kori Suketchi
Summary: Jesse de Silva moves out to New York after his father remarries to a woman with three daughters. Susannah, the ghost of a fiery young woman clad in Victorian dress, occupies his new apartment.
1. Family Ties

A/N:  If anyone knows me, they're probably shocked/disappointed that after two years of not posting on FF.net, I post a Mediator fanfic instead of an RK one.  Sorry peoples.  I might get back in that groove during the summer, but until then, here's a twist.

This story follows the basic plot of the first book, but obviously roles have been changed and the plot quite a bit more condensed.

There is no need to review, I'm mainly using FF.net as an archive since my computer crashed and burned awhile back with any incomplete stories it had on it (yes, that's what happened to the RK stuff)

Role Reversal

Summary:  Jesse de Silva moves out to New York after his father remarries to a woman with three daughters.  Hardly able to complain since his father is so happy, he still misses the freshness of California.  Taking care of his new younger stepsisters in his spare time, Jesse settles at his new high school even if he's only going to be there for a semester.  But there's something else for Jesse to keep an eye out for.  Or someone that is.  Susannah Simon, the ghost of a fiery young woman clad in Victorian dress, occupies Jesse's new apartment.  She's welcome company to Jesse and attractive as well, but that's besides the point…

As a mediator, Jesse has learned as much as he could from Father Dominic back at Carmel but nothing could prepare him for what was to come.

Chapter 1:

I wasn't really planning on leaving California, but I felt that it was necessary.  After all, I wanted to be on hand if Dad ever needed help with his new family.  He may have been used to caring for me, an only child, but three little girls?   

All right, I admit it.  I wanted to check out this new family of ours.  I could've stayed back in Carmel, but transferring wasn't so bad.  Adam and CeeCee would keep in touch (and hopefully spend a bit more time with each other).  I smiled as I thought of them.   CeeCee had an enormous crush on Adam for as long as I knew them.  What about me, you ask?   Oh, sure, there were girls interested in me for awhile.  Kelly Prescott hounded me at first glance, but once it was clear I was too much of a do-gooder and a bit odd, she backed off in frustration.  Any interest in me went that way.  

As a mediator, what else could I be but a do-gooder?

Ever since I was small, I could see ghosts.  It's my job to send them on their way to whatever it is ghosts normally do after they die.  What that is, I wish I knew.  You'd think we'd get a bit of info on that, but no.  We just complete whatever is asked of us, and they move on without a word.  Father Dominic, a priest and the principal of Mission Academy, was also a mediator.  He was very kind and understanding and taught me everything I knew.  Be understanding with the undead, listen to them, and work things out.

Of course it didn't always go that way.

I'm a bit ashamed to admit that on more than one occasion, a spirit has been less than reasonable.  Well, then I have to resort to other methods of calming them down.  That method being a bit more… violent.  Keep in mind, these were a last resort.  As a mediator, I can physically touch (or punch) ghosts.  Most people will only get a chill or catch a fleeting glimpse, but nothing more.  Not me though.  I once had to kick a ghost-guy out of the girls' locker room back at the academy.  Of course, I did this after school hours, because no amount of explaining would get me out of trouble like that.  Father Dominic only allowed it because he was unwilling to go into the locker room himself.

Anyway, that was before.  This is now.

New York, that is.  I had just stepped off the plane at JFK airport when the breeze hit me.  It was cold!  It was January, and back at Carmel, that meant the teenagers were already shopping for bathing suits.  Here, it seems that meant you could peel off the first of five layers of clothing.  I clutched my rather thin coat around myself and walked off towards the greeting area.  

I spotted them right away.  Dad had his arm around a woman about his age with long brown hair.  She was looking at me eagerly.  Her eyes were bright with enthusiasm as she could hardly contain her excitement.  Her name was Annie.  Beside them were three girls.  The oldest, Carrie, was about 16, slender and tall.  She had hair like her mother except with blond highlights that she flipped over her shoulder.  The first time we met, she looked me up and down as if appraising me.  It was a bit unnerving.

The middle girl, Jenny, was slightly hidden behind a sign that they had made.  "Welcome Home Jesse!" it said in red magic marker.  She looked shy, wore her hair shorter, and only blinked up at me in curiosity.  But from the way her eyes crinkled at the corners, I could tell she was hiding a smile.  As I walked up to them, I suddenly spotted the third, Megan, clinging to her mother's leg.  She was the very picture of her own mother, both in looks and excitement, but with her hair in pigtails.  She couldn't have been more than 5.  I knew them all, but very vaguely.  We had only met a few times before the wedding.  

I couldn't help but smile, Megan was so adorable.  Before I could say anything though, Annie had stepped forward and embraced me.  I blinked in surprise because it had been such a long time since I had been hugged like this.  My own mother passed away when I was 6 in a car accident.  She popped in once in awhile just to check on us.  I really did try to get her to move on, but she just waved me off and changed the subject.  She didn't even object to Father's remarriage.  Mother had said that she wanted to see him finally happy and that 12 years of mourning was plenty enough to know that we loved her.  

After a moment of hesitation, I hugged her back warmly.  As she moved away, I saw that she had such a brilliant smile; I had to give one back in return.  Annie said, "Oh, welcome, Jesse!"  

Carrie stepped forward and held out her hand, that I took and shook cordially.  She said, "Welcome to New York."  She said it in such a way though, that made me think she had far more things on her mind.  At the time though, I just contributed it to her having better things to do than wait around for her new stepbrother to arrive.

Jenny hesitated before dropping the sign a little to get a better look at me.  She didn't offer a hand, but smiled shyly and said, "Hi."  

I gave a slight nod to all of them, the most I could manage with the backpack I had brought as carry-on, and said, "Thank you for welcoming me.  I hope I won't be too much trouble to have around."  I gave them a rather nervous smile.  I couldn't help it.  Suddenly having four more women in my family did seem a bit daunting now.  And when I'm nervous, I resort to congeniality. After all, it's hard to dislike a nice guy, right?  Well, unless you ask Kelly Prescott.

Carrie and Jenny looked somewhat surprised, but Annie just clapped her hands with joy.  "Such a polite young man! Just like his father."  It was Dad's turn to be embarrassed.  

Afterwards, he just clapped his hand roughly against my back in a fatherly manner.  He said, "Come on, Jesse.  Lots to be done now!"  Dad had that big goofy grin he usually sports when he was nothing but completely contented.  I suppose having a full family again would make anyone pleased.  Dad and I picked up my suitcases (my much heavier baggage like my books were being shipped here later) and followed the girls outside.

_Nombre de Dios,_ is it cold here!  I once again pulled my coat closer around myself and covered any bare skin on my arms with it.  Amidst the noise and hustle and bustle, Dad loaded up my things into his car.  But then I noticed that Annie, Dad, and Megan were getting into one car while Carrie and Jenny were going into another.

Carrie turned to me, "Come on, Jess, we're taking you."  She added in a whisper, "Mom and Alex need some time together."  Alex was short for Alejandro, my father's full name.  Just like Jess was short for Jesse.  Then again, my full name isn't Jesse either.  Only when my teachers first met me did they call me Hector before I politely corrected them.

Seriously.  Hector.

Still, my mother had named me (claiming it was traditional), so there's not really much I can do about it, barring legal action.

 I nodded to Carrie and got into Annie's car.  She got into the driver's seat and Jenny buckled up behind us.  As we drove away, Carrie spoke up again, "We usually don't drive this thing, but we couldn't all come and fit your stuff in one car."

"Dad told me that he's selling his car too, later."

She shrugged, "Well, you guys honestly won't be needing it that much here.  The subway will get you to wherever you need to, including school and college when it comes to it.  Wanna know about the school?"

It was my turn to shrug and I stared out the window as she talked on, mostly about how it wasn't so bad for a school in New York and that I was lucky that I there was space even if only for a semester and something about the food court.  After awhile, she turned her attention back on me.  "Not much of a talker, are you?"

I grinned a little.  "More of a listener."

She shook her head ruefully, "Man, wait till everybody gets a load of you."

Before I could ask her what she meant, everything came into view.  I mean _everything_.  I knew NYC was large, but I never anticipated how everything was just so completely packed together to sprawl over the land, almost right into the water.  

I must have been gaping since Jenny spoke up, "Great, isn't it?  The best setting for a mystery novel."

I repeated curiously, "Mystery novel?" 

Carrie rolled her eyes. "Don't mind her.  Jenny's just a little nut when it comes to weird stuff.  Aliens, Bigfoot, murders, ghosts, and the like.  She was thrilled to hear you were coming because of it."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise.  I had never given my dad or anyone besides Father Dominic an idea of what I did in my spare time.  Dad almost caught Mom and me talking on more occasions than I'm comfortable with, but he never let on if he was suspicious.  Maybe he just thought I was dealing with her loss.  I asked as levelly as I could, "What do I have to do with that?"

Jenny perked up instantly, "Because I hear your apartment's haunted!"


	2. Roomie

Chapter 2:

To explain a little better, here's the housing situation.  There isn't enough room for all of us to move in together (they have a fairly plush 3 bedroom apartment), but that's no reason for us to be really separated, according to Annie and Dad.  Since I'm going to college so soon anyway, they thought it would be good for me to get a place of my own.  Not just a little roach motel either, a nice _loft_ a just block away from their own place.  And interestingly enough, rather cheap.  Annie is a real estate agent, so she can get first dibs on places she really wants, or in this case, for her stepson going to college.  I tried to turn down the offer of such a nice place (since I technically wasn't paying for it) but admittedly, I didn't try very hard.  

But now I can see why the place was so easy to get. 

Jenny continued, "The building dates back as far as the 1800's but ever since about the 1900's, the residents have only stayed a few weeks before giving it up.  I've looked on the internet and pulled up several cases of typical ghost haunting: banging noises, lamps thrown, the works!"  She looked positively delighted.

I wasn't sure I felt the same.  Oh, yes, it's my job and all, but I wasn't expecting having to de-ghost my own loft the day I got here.  And by the sound of it, this particular ghost sounded violent enough as it is.  I suppressed a sigh as I could practically hear Father Dom now.  _Now now, Jesse_, he would say, _it is our sole responsibility to guide these unfortunate souls to their proper rest.  As their guide and beacon, blah blah blah blah…_  

Hey, I adored the old guy, but he can just talk forever about the subject.

Carrie suddenly turned into a parking garage and we all filed out.  Dad and Annie were not too far away and were waving to us to follow them into a nearby building.  Dad had all my suitcases.  Carrie, Jenny, and I complied and made our way down to them to the front lobby of the complex.  Annie talked to the front desk while we found an elevator to fit us all.  Once she was done, we piled in and rode it to the top.  There was quaint elevator music that did nothing to soften compact space.  Finally stepping off, our little troop made our way to door number 515.  Annie searched her pockets and pulled out a card key that she scanned and swung the heavy door open.

The place was huge.

Well, not warehouse huge, but enough room for a studio, electric fireplace, living area, dining space, kitchen, and whatnot to fit comfortably.  The only reason I saw for the rest of the family not to move in here instead was that it only had one bedroom.  The rest was just comfort space.  Not only that, but the place already had a good amount of furniture already there, bought courtesy of Annie and Dad, although it hadn't been unwrapped or put in place yet.  

Dad put my stuff down and rose his arms up to emphasize the vastness.  "Well?  What do you think," he asked.

I said sincerely, "It's wonderful.  I really don't deserve all this on your bill."

Annie waved it off, "Oh, it's nothing, Jesse.  This place was practically made for you.  Plenty of room to put your books and such. And every young man needs a place of his own."

Carrie replied, "Hey!  What about me?"  Carrie was seventeen, but still didn't get any benefits from her mother's real estate business.

Annie patted her shoulder, "We'll get to that when we see your next grade report, honey."

Remembering Jenny's remark, I looked cautiously around.  Nothing seemed out of place yet.  Annie and Dad obviously didn't have any trouble getting the furniture here.  As I took to walking around the place, I heard Jenny say from near the doorway, "Wow, is this really haunted?"

Megan let out a little scream, "Ghosts are bad!"

Annie calmed the two of them down, "Jenny, are you still on that?  Just because this loft is old, doesn't mean it's haunted."

Dad ruffled Megan's hair, "Don't worry, little one, no ghost could ever harm you.  Not with me and Jesse here to protect you."  If he only knew.  Unbeknownst to him, on more than a few occasions a ghost has taken a swipe at dear old dad, but paid dearly for it later.

Still, Megan smiled brightly at Dad and rose up her arms to be held by him.  He obeyed and lifted her up as she laughed again.  Dad called out to me, "Hey, Jesse, we're going out for a nice family dinner.  Why don't we all get changed and we'll be back in ten minutes to pick you up?"

"Yeah, that sounds great, Dad." I turned back to exploring as I heard the door shut behind them.  

The loft was mostly open space divided into sections by open doorways and furniture groupings, but there were only three actual doors and a few windows.  The windows led out to the fire escape and the front door out to the hallway.  The slightly smaller door between the kitchen and living area was a bathroom.  A part of me already knew what I would find as I turned the doorknob to what was to be my bedroom.


	3. First Night in NYC

A/N: To be honest, I kept how Susannah and Jesse call each other because I can't see her calling him "Hector."  

I do hope none of you are getting the wrong idea and think that this is going to be some amazing original fanfic.  Because it really isn't.  I simply twisted the Mediator canon and changed the story appropriately.   Any plot twists that happen are already set by the books themselves.  Anything really deviant will come in the sequels when I really have to change the story to make ends meet, for example: creating an older/wiser character for Jesse to talk to in lieu of Father Dom.  (Yes, I do plan on re-writing the other books as well.  They're already drafted.)  

Anyway, I'm glad you guys enjoy the story. I know some chapters are 800 words long and others twice as much, but that's just how it turned out.  (P.S: I'm already up to Chapter 10 on this; I just release them on FF.net every other day or so for kicks.)

Chapter 3:

On the bed, the only furniture unwrapped and set up, was a young lady.  In a Victorian dress, low neckline, bustle and all.  She had a necklace on that she fiddled with nonchalantly.  She must have thought I was just staring at the room because she didn't bother to move.  She did look up after a moment though, her emerald green eyes staring directly into mine.  I've never seen such eyes.  I think that was when she realized it because she turned around to see if there was anything else I could be staring at.  As she did, her brown slightly curled hair fluttered over her shoulders.  

I cleared my throat (as well as my wandering mind and eye) and said uncertainly, "Umm… Miss?" She was after all, a lady of some sort.  I had dealt with ghosts as old as hers before, but they were never this, well, attractive.

Nombre de Dios…  Out of all the bedrooms to haunt, the loveliest ghost I had ever seen was in mine.

I pushed the idea out of my mind, as she jumped up in surprise, exclaiming.  "You can see me!" I couldn't tell if it was fright or anger that was mixed in with surprise.  Maybe a bit of both, although anger wasn't usually what I got from lady ghosts.  Mostly just a lot of crying about a lost pendants or letters from a lover.  That sort.

I braced myself for any tears that might come and said, "Well, yes, I can." I added quickly, "Is there something I can help you with?"

She just looked at me in confusion and said, "Nobody has seen me in 150 years.  Nobody."  If I didn't know any better, I'd say there was a bit of pride in that count.

I replied patiently, "Yes, well, I'm a mediator.  It's my job to help those like you, Miss."  I've had to explain this quite a bit to my older ghosts.  Since they had been dead so long, they were used to not being noticed so they always had the biggest shock when I tapped them on the shoulder.

"Susannah."

"Excuse me?"

She replied patiently in the same tone I had just given her, "My name is Susannah."

"Oh.  All right then, Susannah."  I continued, "What can I help you with?"

She sat back down with a small frown on her lips.  Lightly painted rouge lips, I might add.  The kind that could look pouty when it was to her advantage.  But as she continued, my attention turned away from her lips and back to what she was saying, "What do you mean by help?"

"I mean, what is it that is keeping you here?  I'll do my best to fix it so you can, you know, move on."  That's the simplest way to put it to make her understand, right?  I'd do whatever task she wanted, and then I could have this comfy loft to myself.

Wrong.

Instead, she raised an elegantly curved eyebrow in suspicion, "What if I like just staying here?"

I sighed, "But that's not how it works.  You're supposed to move on to heaven or your next life or such."  I thought that mentioning hell would only upset her more.

Susannah stood up again, a look of defiance on her face.  Stamping a slippered foot, she said, "I have been here for a century and a half.   Who are you to tell me to leave?"

I stood up as well, a little peeved now that she was trying the superiority card with me.  I said, "My name is Jesse de Silva, and I am the mediator."  I took a calming breath and continued a little more gently.  "Wouldn't you like to move on?  A lady like yourself can't possibly want to stick around here."

Somehow, this was the wrong thing to say.  Susannah's eyes burned bright and the room started to rumble ominously.  "I am not some _lady_ to be ordered around!  Not by _you_, not by my _father_, **_nobody_**!" If she kept this up the tenants below us could have ceiling and ghosts raining down on them.  

I did the first thing I could think of to stop her.  I took one quick stride forward to stand in front of her and seized her by the shoulders.  The rumbling suddenly halted and Susannah's eyes were wide in confusion and surprise.  I said firmly, "Stop that!  You could hurt someone that way.  If you're going to be mad at me, only involve me.  Understand?"  I caught most ghosts unaware when I suddenly touched them in anyway.  It made them pay attention.  I imagine it made quite the impression on her since she probably had not been touched in 150 years.  That's a lot to take in.

Susannah seemed at a loss for words as she looked up me through her eyelashes.  She kept staring as I let go of her.  Fingering her necklace nervously, she muttered, "You… How…?" She didn't seem to be able to say more than that and dematerialized.  

I unpacked an outfit, along with a heavier coat, and got dressed in the adjoining bathroom.   I had a feeling I hadn't seen the last of Susannah and the last thing I needed was for her to catch me undressed.  

Just as I finished combing back my hair, I heard the door unlock and the family walk in.  I stepped out of my room to greet them and go on our way.  Susannah was no where in sight.

We, the new family, went downtown to what seemed like a nice little deli place near the Metropolitan Museum (I made a mental note to visit there at some point).  Turns out though that the place was actually much bigger than I thought, extending inward and packed with tables as if it preferred that rather than vying for space actually on the city street.  It did have a quaint quality to it though.  The walls were covered with signed photographs of famous people who had eaten there.  I couldn't blame them though because they had the best cheesecake I had ever tasted.  Ever.

Dad and Annie were practically reveling in the moment, their new growing family eating a lovely meal.  At least, that's how they saw it.  Oh, don't get me wrong, my new stepsiblings and stepmother were wonderful company, but I would hardly call the dinner moment heartwarming.  Megan was making odd shapes out of her food with her hands, Jenny was already done and reading a book on UFOs, and Carrie had answered her cell phone midway through her salad.  I got a paper napkin and cleaned up Megan as best I could, catching a glimpse of Dad and Annie again, who were still wearing identical adoring smiles.  I realized in that moment that maybe it was this chaos that made them so happy.  After all, only a family would be so openly unruly with each other. 

After dinner, we went home and everyone said goodnight to me at my door.  Annie seemed genuinely saddened (for the first time I've met her) that I was living alone.  Dad comforted her and reminded her that Carrie and Jenny would be picking me up Monday to go to school.  We finally parted and I staggered to my room to sleep.  Jetlag wasn't working out too well.  I didn't bother to take off most of my clothes, just threw my coat over the corner of the bed, and went to sleep directly on the covers.

In my jetlag induced haze, my brain distantly registered a faint floral fragrance.  While comforting, I was sure I had just imagined it.

Of course, by Monday morning, I was positive I hadn't.  


	4. School Spirit

A/N:  Does anyone have any specifics about Gina's brothers?  Or even a general idea?  Younger, older? Geeky, rebel?  Or is the whole thing left open like Jesse's sisters?

Chapter 4:

Sunday wasn't so bad.  Dad and Annie came by to help me unpack my things that had just arrived, a good amount of those being books.  I can't help it, I just read a lot.  Anyway, we got most of the living room finished but hadn't even begun on the studio area (which I was turning into a study, naturally) or my bedroom.  We only stopped for lunch for which Carrie, Jenny, and Megan delivered and ate with us.  It was Chinese takeout from down the street and not too bad either.  We all sat on the floor of the half finished dining area, talking about goodness knows what.  It's not that we were being awkward or anything, it was just that it seemed more important for us to be just sitting around and talking together.  Carrie even turned off her phone and offered to help for the rest of the afternoon.

When I went to sleep that night, I went to bed in much the same way as the last except this time I did change (in the bathroom) into a pair of boxers and a T-shirt to sleep in.  I sprawled on the bed until I was comfortable and went to sleep.  But when I woke up, something was definitely different.

For one thing, I was under the covers, tucked in quite comfortably.  It was nice in those few minutes between dreaming and actual full-on awake, until I remembered the only other person who could be in the apartment.  And it was not Annie with the spare card key.  

After sitting up and running my hand through my unkempt hair in confusion, I noticed another thing.  My bedroom was… well, a bedroom.  All the furniture had been unpacked and set up.  While it was very stylishly set up and a very nice gesture, I couldn't quite make sense of it.  Yes, I did have an inkling of who had done it but the question was why.  Did she realize she couldn't get rid of me and decided to make the best of it?  After all, a girl like her probably didn't want a messy place, as I had noticed my coat had been hung up in the closet.  I glanced around again and saw the digital clock.  7:30 AM.  Crap.

I jumped into the shower and quickly got ready.  Even though I was running late, I tried to pick out something nice for my first day.  I rummaged through my closet and found a pair of black jeans and a red collar shirt.  Once, CeeCee had told me that red suited me, a romantic look given my tanned skin and dark hair.  Adam said I looked like the guy on the cover of a trashy novel.  I brushed aside Adam's comment and went with the red anyway.  Besides, I didn't have much time to think about it.  Sure enough at exactly eight o'clock, when I had just finished brushing my teeth, there was a knock at the door.  

I grabbed my empty book bag (I was assured by Carrie it would be filled with homework by bitter old teachers) and opened the door.  There were Carrie and Jenny, both also brandishing backpacks.  Carrie was decked out in black silk tee and stylishly ripped jeans.  Jenny went for a plainer look in normal jeans and solid blue shirt.  I grinned nervously and began to close the door, but Carrie had already seen.  

"Whoa, did the Fab Five visit or something?"  She was staring at my now fully furnished apartment, complete with books set in the shelves of the study.  "You already have everything up!"

I quickly made up an excuse, "Yeah, I just wanted to have it finished before school started since… Homework would probably get in the way."  Lame answer, I know.  But I wasn't about to say that a 150 year old ghost had spruced it up for me.

She raised an eyebrow, "Sure… More likely that you wanted to impress any ladies you're going to have come around."  Carrie turned and headed for the elevator.

Before I could argue, I shut my mouth and let her think she wanted.  It was easier that way.  I sighed and looked down at Jenny who just stared curiously back.  I gave her a reassuring smile and asked, "Shall we go?"  We both made our way to Carrie who was holding the elevator for us.

The school, which was a combination junior high and high school (like Mission Academy), actually wasn't that far from the first stop on the subway.  We could've walked if we wanted, but the early morning crowd bustling about might've been too much for my first day actually out.  Next to a park, we reached a tall building with a large plaque embedded near the front door_. Birchwood Academy, remembering the past and giving our children a future._  I muttered, "They aren't serious, are they?"

Carrie heard me, "Oh, that.  Not really.  This place is considered high class stuff, but it's still just a high school.  The seniors usually end up wreaking havoc on the junior classes by the end of the year, like an annual civil war."

We walked inside and I parted ways with Jenny and Carrie.  I was supposed to meet a guidance counselor and have her escort me for a tour and whatnot.  Typical stuff.  The bell had already rung for first period as I waited in the lobby.  The secretary glanced at me once in a while, but I didn't know why.  Maybe my hair was still tousled from this morning's rush.  Finally one of the doors to the offices opened and I was met with a middle aged, bespectacled woman who looked almost startled to see me.  She quickly covered it up with a kindly smile.  "You're Hector de Silva?"

"Jesse, ma'am," I corrected her automatically.

She nodded, "All right, Jesse, I'm Mrs. Pinkleton.  Right this way, please."  Mrs. Pinkleton led the way down the hall past many identical grey-green doors with a single long wired glass window.    Inside were various classes, all with mostly the same bored expressions.  The others were talking amongst themselves, probably about their winter break.  The whole time, Mrs. Pinkleton was talking, "Birchwood Academy is a great school of learning for young people going out into the world.  We are equipped with an indoor swimming pool, a tennis/basketball/track area on the roof, and an open grass eatery located in the center of the campus."  

I was surprised to see that we had in fact come to the end of the hallway and as we pushed open the heavy door, I couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised.  Surrounded on three sides by building and one by chain link fence was a garden area fitted with benches for eating lunch.   The very center was a fountain with what I suppose was supposed to be modern art sculpture in the middle.  Kinda like a cube with a hole in it and balanced on a pyramid.  Besides the sculpture, I was reminded of Mission Academy and felt warm at the memory.  Mrs. Pinkleton went on to explain which class levels were on which floors and that the park next door that faced the garden was actually where most school related outdoor activities were held.  I zoned out for a bit as we walked through the garden and back into the grayish building.  She was talking about the clubs which I had no real interest in joining.  I already had an outside job that took up most of my time…

Finally, we came to locker 734 (located near the garden, to my pleasure) and she handed me my combination and schedule.  She said, "Aren't you the lucky one?  Your first class is right through there too."  Mrs. Pinkleton pointed to a door only feet away from where we were standing.  She walked up to the door and knocked sharply.  A man stood there when it opened, a bit tired in appearance but nice-looking all the same.

He asked, "Ah is this him, Eloise?" 

Mrs. Pinkleton nodded and said, "Yes, this is Hector de Silva, who goes by Jesse." She turned back to me, "Have a good first day, dear."

The teacher said, "I'm Mr. Haulin, I'll be your US History teacher."  He shook my hand genially and led me into the classroom.

I was met with twenty pairs of interested eyes.   They all looked awestruck at the sight of me, which only made me fidget.  I wondered what they were staring at, hadn't they ever seen a guy before?  Well, maybe the red shirt had been too much after all.  Every kid there was wearing either black or grey, or some combination of the two.   Bright colors didn't seem to be the in-thing at the moment.

That was when I noticed him.  

Sitting casually in the second row was a guy, just like any other in the class: blonde hair, blue eyes, casually dressed in jeans and a sweater.  He blinked up at me just as the rest of the class did.  But the thing that really stood out about him was that he was dead.


	5. Crush

A/N:  Sadly, there is no fun to be had with Paul at the moment.  Since this is technically a rewrite, he's not (physically) appearing until way, way, way later.  As in the fourth installment, like he did in the real series.   Personally, I hold Paul in the same disdain I hold Maria, but try not to let bias show in the actual fics. (points to the giant character flip-flop hint)  

Answers to two specific reviews:  The title I kept because I wasn't originally intending on putting this on FF.net, so it was for my own file reference.  And secondly, who wouldn't stare if Jesse walked into a room?  I know I would (as discreetly as possible anyway…) 

Chapter 5:  

I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do at first.  If I were anywhere else, I could just pull him aside and talk, but with an entire classroom staring at me it was a bit impossible.   So I did the only thing I could.  I ignored him.   Mr. Haulin led me to the front of the classroom when he saw me hesitate and asked me a few general questions for the class's benefit.  I replied simply about my new stepfamily and my previous home and school in Carmel-by-the-sea, California.  

Haulin was merciful enough to let me sit down after only a minute or two.  I was then asked to pick a seat.  There was only one seat available, two if you were normal and couldn't see the ghost boy in the second row.  But since this obviously did not apply to me, I skipped the ghost-occupied seat next to the girl with high boots and took the seat in the fifth row behind the girl with a nose ring.  For some reason, a boy near me took the moment to comment to his friend, "Jeez, pick the freak, why doncha?"

It looked like the girl with the nose ring was going to retort, but I asked him darkly, "You've got something to say to me or her?"

He hastily replied, "I wasn't calling _you a freak."_

"Yeah? Well, that's why I'm going to break your face instead of just your arm."  The tone of my voice must have made him reconsider his reply since he turned back around quickly.  Hey, I may be polite, but I've kicked a few butts in my spare time even if most were of metaphysical sort. But shouldn't I get extra points for those anyway?  

The rest of class went much smoother.   I could almost pretend the ghost in the second row was just a normal classmate, even if he did glow a bit.  When the bell rang for second period – which was something else I had to readjust to since Carmel just went by the hour – the nose-ring girl stood up with me and said bluntly, "I don't need you to stick up for me."  She was quite impressive since she was nearly as tall as I was.  I could see her clearly now.  She had café au lait skin and bright coppery hair that was done into many braids.

I blinked and said, "Never would have dreamed it."

"Oh, yeah?  Then what was that little display before with Josh?" she asked.  "Comin' all up in here like Don Juan saving a damsel in distress.  Let me tell you right now, I ain't no damsel."  She put her hand on her hip and looked up at me stubbornly. 

I couldn't help but be reminded of Susannah's "I am not a lady" rage.  The girls in New York seem so touchy about that.  "I didn't do it because you needed help," I explained, "I did it because Josh is an ass."

She had to smile at that.  "I'm Gina," she said as she offered her hand.  "Welcome to New York."

"Jesse," I replied unnecessarily as I took it.

Gina was one of those free-spirited rebels people usually write books about.  Rebelling against what, I'm not sure.  She despised the snobbish fashion club at the school, but still made a point of scoring a fifty percent off Prada handbag.  When I asked her about that, she said, "Attitude makes or breaks ya.  But that doesn't mean you can't be stylin' at the same time."  I admit I can't really refute that logic.

We walked out of first period and I noticed that the ghost-boy had left as well and I hadn't seen where he'd gone.  Oh, well.  If it was really important, he'd show up again.  I wish I'd had the foresight to see how right I was. 

At lunch, I bought a simple lunch of chicken tenders and a soda then sat with Gina a few of her friends on a bench in the garden.  There were four lunch periods, the last of which the seniors had to themselves.  Gina's friends were happy to meet me and bombarded me with questions about California.  You could tell they weren't the most popular kids in school, but they were fun and entertaining.  Steve, a guy with baggy jeans and long hair, asked, "Did you do any surfing there?"

"A little. But not as much as my other friends, Adam, Jake, and Brad."  Jake and Brad were the two eldest of the three Ackerman brothers.  Jake was my age and Brad was two years behind us.  If you didn't know Jake well, you might've thought he was a druggie, but he's just sleepy and out of it most of the time.  He worked as a lifeguard during the day in the summer, and as a pizza delivery guy by night.  Jake even tended to shorten words out of laziness, like pizza into "za."  Brad on the other hand, I was exasperated with most of the time.  I didn't hate him, but he seemed like such a lump when he wanted to be.  He was admittedly dependable though when it came to any sort of fight or defense I needed, although that may have been because I could introduce him to girls easily.  The littlest Ackerman was David who often helped with any research I needed, ghost-related or otherwise.  I think he suspected the whole mediator thing, but never questioned me.  I added, "Jake is thinking of coming to New York for college."

A pretty girl with purple highlights in her black hair named Sarah said, "Damn, it's like a hottie invasion here."  I just laughed.

Just then I happened to notice Carrie and the girl with high boots sitting together on the lip of the fountain.  And to my unbearable luck, ghost boy was glowing there as well, slightly glaring at the girl, who looked upset.  I knew he was up to something.

Gina must have thought I was looking at the girl because she said, "Oh, her?  That's Shannon McKinley."  She took a sip of her Cherry Coke and continued, "I think everyone was surprised when you picked the seat behind me instead of next to her."

"Why?"

"Because she's like the school idol, duh. And she's recently single."  Raising her eyebrows slightly she added, "But that might've been best that you didn't sit there, Jess.  Her old boy-toy Bryan used to sit there."

"What happened?"  Even though I got the sinking feeling that I already knew.

Sarah supplied, "Died in a car accident during break.  They were driving upstate and the roads must've been slick or something. Ran right into the woods and hit the biggest tree there."  

I muttered a Spanish curse they didn't understand and looked back over to Carrie and Shannon. My stepsister had gotten up to get another soda.  But then I saw Bryan stand up as well and turn his glare away from Shannon and on to the modern sculpture.  The cube-thing rumbled ominously and I already knew what was going to happen.  

By instinct, I stood up and ran for the fountain, snatching Shannon out of the way as the sculpture fell on to the fountain lip and partly on the paved walkway right where she had been, shattering bits of stone within a seven foot radius.  Water gushed out of the giant crack and made a mud puddle to the right of it.  Shannon and I had landed a small ways away from the impact, lightly dusted in stone powder.  I had twisted my body as we fell so that she would land on top and not hit the ground with too much force.  I opened my eyes and saw that she was still on top of me, staring not at the wreckage, but at me.  I cleared my throat and made a movement to get up. She got the message and got off to sit beside me.  Shannon whispered as she looked at the ruined fountain, "Oh my god…"

I sat up slowly to check for broken bones, but everything seemed to be in order.  I rubbed a slight bump on my head and asked, "Are you all right?" I looked around for Bryan, but he was already gone.

She only managed to say "Oh my god…" again.  

Carrie came running back while Gina and her crew promptly exclaimed, "Holy shit!"

A balding man with a saggy face came up to us through the murmuring and excited senior crowd.  "What happened here?!" His impeccably neat blue suit and general need-to-know tone told me he was the principal.  

Gina answered, "It was the sculpture, Mr. Preston.  It almost fell on Shannon but Jess saved her."

Mr. Preston looked down his nose at me, or at least, he did until I stood up.  I was about six inches taller.  I offered my hand to Shannon to help her up and she stood as well.  You could tell Mr. Preston didn't believe a word of it and probably thought I had somehow caused it, but at the time he could only say, "Escort Miss McKinley to the clinic, Mr. De Silva."  I just did as I was told, even if I didn't exactly know where the clinic was.  But Shannon did.  As we left, I heard Mr. Preston talking to another teacher, "First the security system blows up without reason, now this…"  

So the two of us walked down the hall and were quiet most of the way.  Shannon probably had lots of things on her mind, but I was busy thinking about what Bryan was up to.  Obviously, he wants to kill Shannon, but since that isn't an option I had to find some other way to get him to leave.  Shannon suddenly looked up at me and said, "You know, if it wasn't for you, I'd probably be dead by now."

I replied, "Just doing what I thought anyone would do."

"But they didn't, and you did," she said.  I wasn't sure what she was getting at so I remained quiet.  Shannon continued, "My horrible luck getting almost killed twice in a month."

"Yeah, I heard about that.  Sorry about your boyfriend."  Well, I wasn't really since I saw what he had tried to do, but she didn't have to know about that.

"I guess everyone's talking about me, huh?"

"A little," I admitted.

We arrived at the open door way which had a small sign that said "clinic" in gold lettering.  Before going in, she turned to me and asked, "What are you doing Friday night?"

I blinked and answered lamely, "Nothing, I suppose."

She smiled. "How about I show you around the hot spots in New York?  A small thanks for saving my life."

Oh, she was asking me out on a _date.  Not that this was anything new, but she certainly got to what she wanted quickly.  No note-passing to girlfriends or ill-disguised attempts to find out more about me.  They just have a different attitude here in New York, I guess.  I answered with a smile, "It'd be a pleasure."  We exchanged phone numbers and Shannon finally went into the clinic.  I made my way back to class wondering what I was getting myself into._

A/N:  Like I said before, there will be some major plot changes to fit the setting after this first rewrite.  I think those will be more enjoyable than this one.  And in case you're curious, there are a more reappearances from pre-existing characters in later chapters and/or installments.  Want a teaser?  Here (for those of you who just really wanted to see Paul): 

_I had only just stepped out of the bathroom when I felt the familiar chill.  Nombre de Dios__, was she back already?  I was about to reach for the first "weapon" I could grab, the plunger, when I saw someone else of the ghostly-persuasion looking around my room in wonderment.  And this one was not wearing a dress.  _

_He was as tall as I was, with broad-shoulders and look of slight amusement on his face as he saw what I was reaching for.  He offered his hand cordially with a broad smile, "Hello, I'm Paul Slater.  You're the mediator, I presume?"_

Too bad Book 4 is such a long way away, huh?


	6. Dinner Discussions

A/N: About Jesse's behavior (i.e. threatening to break Josh's face), I'd imagine that Jesse, already the protective type, would be accostumed to threatening people (ghosts or otherwise) who offend him or others. Afterall, having them go after your father can't be terribly good for one's attitude. And I have my own plans for Gina concerning Jesse's mediating skills.

To Pearl: The Mediator Series is written by Jenny Carrol AKA Meg Cabot. If you'd like snippits of the books, they're at www.jennycarroll.com I highly suggest them. Any book that leaves me smiling stupidly for the next week or so is a good book, in my opinion.

I haven't actually written the whole rewritten series yet, but I do have all ideas laid out for what's to come. The teaser was just a small bit of what I'm planning for the 4th one.

And, yes, there will be more Jesse/Suze fluff. Patience is a virtue.

Chapter 6:

At the end of the day, I was waiting for Carrie and Jenny in the school lobby. We were going to their place for dinner with Annie and Dad. I saw Jenny run up first and she said excitedly, "Everyone's talking about it! My fourth period has a window and we saw the whole thing! You saved Shannon McKinley's life, Jesse!"

"It wasn't anything really. I just happened to see the thing wobble and pushed her out of the way." I didn't think it was such a good idea to attract so much attention on my first day.

"Don't you think it's a bit suspicious, Jesse?" Jenny added in a hushed voice. "Shannon's almost died twice in a month. It could be Bryan's ghost or even a conspiracy by the faculty."

Carrie reached us and rolled her eyes at Jenny. "Don't be stupid, dweeb. Everyone loves Shannon. Why would anyone want to kill her?" That was a good question. Why would Bryan want his girlfriend dead?

We made our way back to Dad and Annie's apartment, stopping by my place to drop off my backpack (Carrie had been right about the homework). Their apartment was a bigger than mine, obviously, but with two more rooms and without a study. Carrie had her own room while Jenny didn't mind sharing with Megan. Annie presumably did her work elsewhere. We kids set the table while Annie and Dad brought out the food. Annie's cooking smelled wonderful. After several years of just dad and me (I did most of the cooking, by the way), this was heavenly. We were having herb chicken with mashed potatoes and corn on the side. Dad had to open with the question, "So how was school today?"

Jenny eagerly answered, "Jesse saved Shannon McKinley's life!"

Both Annie and Dad stopped midway of eating. Annie asked, "Did you really Jesse? From what?"

I shrugged and explained again, "That sculpture on the fountain almost fell on her. I just pushed her out of the way."

"Don't be getting into your old antics again, Jess," said Dad. He was joking, but I knew what he was talking about. I always managed to get into the oddest situations back at Carmel. Someone's missing a family heirloom? Dad happens to see me return a locket to an elderly old lady. Murderer on the loose? Dad sees me in the cemetery and the cops catch the criminal the next day. I know parents are infamous for knowing too much about where their kids are, but in my case it's a little riskier.

Carrie decided to join in, "People are calling Jess 'Don Juan' since he's just swept away the entire female student body with his superhero act."

I had to go a bit red at that as I muttered, "Gina just had to make that remark…"

Dad laughed, "'Don Juan,' eh? Suits you, Jess, always been the heartbreaker. Whatever happened to that Kelly Prescott? I thought you two would go well together."

"Dad, Kelly didn't have enough wit to fill a teaspoon," I supplied. "Maybe if they could actually have a conversation instead of fluttering their eyelashes at me, I'd be interested." Or maybe if they had curling brown hair and emerald green eyes.

I had to swat the notion away as Carrie smirked, "It didn't take much more than that for you to ask out Shannon."

I sighed and said, "First, _she_ asked _me_. Second, how could I say no? I need to take a look around to get my bearings straight anyway."

Annie said thoughtfully, "McKinley… Oh, them. They've asked me for prices on a few places. Apparently, her parents are thinking of moving out of state." Good, then maybe she can get away from homicidal boyfriend ghosts. Until then, I had to find out why Bryan wanted her dead and put a stop to it.

Jenny changed the subject, "I like your new friends, Jesse. They're nice to me when they see me with my books, especially Gina. She likes mysteries too." This led to a full questioning on my choice of friends from Carrie until Annie told her to be quiet.

As we were cleaning up, Jenny stood next to me as I put the clean dishes in the cabinet. She asked, "Have you heard anything odd in your apartment? Particularly in your bedroom?"

"No," I answered automatically. But curious as to why she specified my room, I added, "Why?"

"Because I was doing more research on it and it turns out that at least several deaths and disappearances were in your apartment. There are plenty of sources to sort out. Everything from ladies to murderers has been through there. The entire building used to be a prestigious gallery that was owned by an old wealthy family." Her eyes widened as she spouted the information, eager for my reaction.

I hoped she couldn't see my ears perk up at the words _ladies and murderers_. I asked as casually as I could, "Hey, Jenny, could I get a copy of that information? Just for a bit of background?"

"Sure thing!" She sounded thrilled that someone else was interested in her research.

A minute later, the phone rang. Annie, up to her elbows in suds with Dad drying, called out, "Carrie, can you get that?"

Carrie put down her set of dishes next to the sink and picked up the phone with a chirpy, "Hello, Taylor residence." Her expression looked surprised as she lowered the phone from her ear and said, "Hey, Jess, Gina's on the phone!"

I finished up putting the dishes up in the cabinet and took the phone from her. "Gina?"

I could hardly hear Gina as her voice was drowned out by bass from some music. She said, "Hey, Jess! How's it hanging, man? Wanna come down to the Spritzer with the crew?"

"Umm," I wondered vaguely what a spritzer was, "I'm a bit busy tonight. How did you know to call me here?"

"What? Don't you live there?" She joked, "You're not living out in the gutter under Carrie's place, are you?"

"No, I just have my own apartment a block from here. I came over for dinner."

"Oh, no shit, Jess?!" I knew I had said the wrong thing when Gina exclaimed, "Man, we have _got_ to have a party some day!"

I replied firmly, "No parties, Gina. The last thing I need is to get kicked out in my first week." Well, that and killer ghosts, but who's keeping track?

"Alright, alright… But then we have to-" her voice was cut off by a beep for call waiting.

I quickly said, "Sorry, Gina, there's a call for someone else. I'll talk to you tomorrow, ok?" I switched over, "Hello, Taylor residence?"

A male voice asked, "Jesse?"

And I recognized it, "Josh?"

"Uh…" You could just feel the confusion over the phone line. "What are you doing there?"

"My stepfamily lives here," I rolled my eyes even if he couldn't see it. "Need to talk to someone?"

"Oh." He ignored the question and said, "Hey, Justin and I saw that whole thing with the fountain. Awesome moves, man. You up for a party on Friday at his place?"

"I'm actually going out with Shannon on Friday…"

"No way!" He sounded envious before suggesting, "Well, mention it to her too and see if you can both drop by. And um…" He hesitated before saying, "Invite Carrie and whoever else along too." He hung up.

I put the receiver back and turned to Carrie, whom he was probably intending to call in the first place. "Josh called. He just invited us to go to a party at some guy's named Justin on Friday."

Her eyes lit up, "Justin Cary? Oh my god, we're so there!"

I asked, "Who's he?"

"Only the hottest guy at school, Jess. Every girl at Birchwood wants to jump him." That was a little more information than I needed. Apparently Justin was the guy Josh had been talking to in . Josh was more of a sidekick than anything else. I thought it was a bit odd to be invited to a party by a guy whose face I had threatened to break.

I went home a half hour later and planned out what I was going to do. I had to sneak into school and talk to Bryan. Simple, yes, but there wasn't much more I could do given the circumstances. Besides, if the security system really was out of commission, then my job would be quicker. No trips to the police station for me tonight.

Back at home, I changed into a black sweater (in my adjoining bathroom, as was becoming habit) and grabbed a flashlight. Yeah, I certainly looked suspicious, but how else am I supposed to dress for breaking into the school? As I headed towards the front door, a voice called out, "And where do you think you're going, Jesse de Silva?"

I turned around and saw Susannah standing behind me with her arms crossed, once again with that small frown on her lips. "To my job, of course," I replied casually. I didn't want to lie to her since she obviously had been the one that fixed up my apartment. It was technically true, wasn't it?

Still frowning, Susannah said, "I don't like this one bit. He's going to kill you."

"Oh, he might try." When I saw her scowl darken, I added quickly, "I've done this before, _querida_. I'll just get an explanation out of him and if he still wants to kill Shannon, I'll just have to change his mind by force." I tried to keep my tone sounding matter-of-factly but I don't think she bought it.

"You're going to get yourself killed, Jesse." She was still frowning, but she didn't look angry anymore. Her eyes were more worried than anything. I almost didn't catch it as she said, "This Bryan has a murderous rage, nothing like you've seen before. I don't want to see your new family weeping at the sight of your mangled body crushed under another statue."

"How did you-" I blinked in surprise, "You've been following me!"

She unfolded her arms, and twiddled them behind her back looking uncomfortable. "So?" Susannah tried to sound unconcerned.

I sighed and turned around to go to the door but I heard something that made me jump. The sound of an old deadbolt locking into place. The thing must have been ancient and hidden away from the renovators years ago. Nothing could budge that heavy door now save dynamite or telekinesis. And only Susannah had one of these. I turned around slowly, telling myself I wouldn't shout at her. She did look more nervous than ever, but stood her ground. I said, "Open the door, Susannah."

She stuck out her chin, "No."

"Fine." I walked to the window, tugged it open, and was halfway on the fire escape when I felt a pull.

"Jesse." She just said my name, that's it. But it was so soft, I almost missed it. I turned my head to look at her. My eyes moved from her concerned face down to where both of her hands were gripping my wrist. Her skin was pale against the black of my sweater and her hold was tight for such small hands. She saw where I was looking and quickly let go as if I had burned her. Still in a bit of shock, I continued out window and climbed down the fire escape. I looked up at the window when I reached the roadside, but Susannah was gone.


	7. After School Activities

A/N: Yes, I can assure you that I will be deviating more in the 2nd installment. Also, A Father Dom type character will appear then (which is probably why this first part sucks. No one for Jesse to talk to).

Chapter 7:

I decided to walk down to the school rather than take the subway. If the security wasn't still down, I needed the least number of witnesses as possible. Lucky for me, even though New York is the city that never sleeps, that doesn't mean they all hang around Brighton Academy. The place was deserted when I got there. I went around to the side of the campus with the chain-link fence and jumped it easily. Of course, who just happened to be standing by the ruined fountain but Bryan himself.

There wasn't a sound, of course. The crickets in the park had gone into hiding, remaining silent. People may be ignorant of ghostly appearances, but not animals. They notice all right. He was glowing a slight blue in the moonlight and had his back turned to me. I cleared my throat to get his attention. Bryan swiveled around fast and stared at me. If I had a nickel for every time I've seen that confused stare, I'd be a billionaire.

I wasn't sure how to start out so I just said, "So… Bryan. We need to talk."

"You're that new guy." He blinked and added wonderingly, "You can see me…"

"Yeah, I can." Jeez, how many times did I have to go through this conversation? It's so much easier when the ghosts come to me and just tell me exactly what they need. "We need to talk about what happened this afternoon with Shannon."

His eyes narrowed at me. "What has that got to do with you, besides ruining it?"

I pushed down my temper, courtesy of Father Dominic's training in patience. "It has a lot to do with me. I'm a mediator and I'm here to help you."

"Help me?" Bryan echoed. "How could you? I'm _dead_."

"Well, that's just it," I explained, "You're dead but you're still here. You're not supposed to be though. Sometimes some ghosts have unfinished business and mediators help them work it out so they can move on."

Bryan looked relieved and relaxed a bit. "Well, I guess I understand."

"Good. So, care to tell me why you're trying to kill Shannon McKinley?" I sat down on one of the stone benches to listen. This ought to be a good story because as far as I know, there's no good reason for anyone (even ghosts) to kill someone else. Maybe beat to a bloody pulp, but that's a rare exception.

To my surprise, he started off by saying, "That bitch." He continued with a sour look, "This whole thing is her fault."

I was taken aback, as you can imagine. "What?"

Bryan paced in front of the broken fountain, explaining, "We were driving together upstate when all of a sudden she tells me that she _doesn't think it's going to work out,_" he said the last part in a disgusted mocking voice. "Turns out that she wanted to break up. Something about trying to 'find herself.' Bullshit." He emphasized the last word with a noisy tremble from the chain fence.

I cast an uneasy glance at the fence and ventured a bit farther, "So when the car veered off the road…?"

"We were too busy arguing to see the sign about the sharp turn." He turned his frowning visage to me, arms crossed once again. "See? It's all her fault."

Trying not to sound accusing, I asked, "What does this have to do with killing her?"

"Well," He scowled and said as if it were obvious, "She's supposed to be with me. That's why I haven't moved on, as you put it."

I shook my head empathetically. "It doesn't work like that, Bryan," I tried to sound kind. Really, I did. But it didn't make a difference.

He was glaring in suspicion now. "What do you mean?"

I explained further, "I mean, even if Shannon died, she'll probably move on and not become a ghost. She wouldn't end up here." I gestured to the garden courtyard. After all, while a raging ghost would hold back a normal person, it wouldn't hold back the oncoming afterlife. Stupid loose ends, maybe, but not another ghost.

Bryan shouted angrily, "Bull!"

"I'm serious, Bryan," I said as I put compassion in my voice (it usually made them feel better). "I'm sorry you had to die just because of the heat of the moment, but we're just going to have to find another way to fix this. You can start over." Although I didn't exactly know if you could count possible hell and damnation as starting over, I didn't want to mention that part.

Bryan suddenly sounded earnest, "I can? How?"

I thought about it. All the ghosts that had moved on did so because what they wanted was done. So I said, "I suppose you just have to really wish for it and make _that_ your ultimate desire, not Shannon."

"I have been doing that!" said Bryan, exasperated. "When I first realized I was like this, I wanted nothing more than to get my old life back."

Uh, oh. "That's not what I meant, Bryan," I said quickly before this thought went too far. "I meant moving on to another life, or heaven, or something."

"You son of a bitch!" He pointed an accusing finger at me, "You said I could start over! You said I could get it back!" I could hear the chain fence clinking and rattling, and it wasn't because of the wind.

"That's not what I-"

"You LIAR!" He was a goner now. His eyes weren't glowing; they were practically burning with bright blue light. He continued to point at me, "I saw what happened today! You're here to take my place, aren't you?! That's _my_ locker, Josh and Justin are _my_ friends, and Shannon is _my_ girlfriend!"

I let out a string of colorful Spanish curses as the bench beneath me leapt up, throwing me. Suddenly, the rubble of the fountain began to quake and a chunk the size of a bowling ball emerged from the pile, hovering about waist height and dangerously spiked in several places. Before I could vaguely register that the thing looked like a tiny planet, there was a dull thud and the wind was knocked out of my lungs. All I could see was the midnight sky.

I could still hear the chain fence madly clanging against their metal poles. Bryan wasn't done. I shouted an obscene word before quickly rolling to my side, the chunk of stone barely grazing my head. As the thing circled around to try at me again, I scrambled to my feet, but slightly hunched because of the attack on my torso.

Diving out of the way more times than I could count, it wasn't long before I couldn't keep up with it. I was kneeling in exhaustion as the thing finally paused and just levitated about thirty feet away, next to Bryan whose face was glowing an eerily blue light and twisted with pure hatred. I knew he was going to launch that thing straight at my head. But suddenly my view of Bryan was obscured by someone else materializing between us.


	8. Querida

A/N: Well, I've actually finished this story now. To be honest, it's probably the one I'll least like when this is through. The second installment should be fun though, more oddity from this AU.

And I was thinking of starting another fic based on that snippit just released for Twilight although I imagine the idea's been done to death, I might try it out later. Or even odder, twist that same idea into this story. We'll see what pops up. By the way, since this story is done, it'll be updated probably daily until its through. Hope you guys had fun.

Chapter 8:

Susannah glanced over her shoulder and shouted, "Run!"

I didn't need another word. Getting to my feet, I ran to the fence and vaulted over it. I turned and saw that Bryan was being pelted by smaller but many more pieces of rubble. I didn't see her anywhere. I yelled, "Susannah!"

There was a hand around my wrist as I was pulled away from the fence and back towards home. Susannah said ahead of me, "I told you to run!" We finally slowed down when we were a good distance from the school.

I pulled my wrist out of her grip so I could grab her shoulders with both of my hands. My heart was going so fast I thought it would burst. I was honestly afraid. I asked her, "_Nombre de Dios_, _querida_, are you all right?"

She looked surprised. I suppose it was a pretty dumb question. "I'm fine, Jesse. How about you?"

"I've never met someone so… unreasonable." I started pacing up and down a ten foot stretch of pavement. "I have to warn Shannon. Bryan is completely out of it. He could come flying at us-"

"No, he can't," Susannah said resolutely. "Bryan doesn't know how to handle his powers yet. He's still too fresh."

This did not make me feel better. Bryan was a newbie and he already had down telekinesis of large projectile objects. "So you're saying he can come flying at us, he just doesn't know how yet?"

"Jesse…"

"Shannon's not going to have a chance at school if he's like this," I started thinking out loud. "I'm going to have to keep a close eye on her tomorrow. Or maybe just Bryan. Unless he disappears, which he'll probably do."

"Jesse."

I might've been rambling in Spanish at some point, I'm not sure. Either way, I continued pacing, "Or maybe I can just keep her from coming to school. Send a threatening letter or something. Is that stalker-ish or just illegal? If I hadn't gone and-"

"Jesse!" Susannah stepped out into my path and I nearly collided with her. She put her hands out to my chest to keep me from crashing into her. I almost stumbled backwards in surprise, but managed to keep myself upright. Her touch was pretty warm for a ghost, but that might have just been the heavy-duty ghost dodging I just did in this heavy sweater.

"It's not your fault," she said firmly.

I blinked at her blankly first before I said, exasperated, "Of course it is, Susannah! He was fine until that last part." I ran my left hand through my hair in frustration. "I'm going to have to go back."

I moved to step around her, but Susannah took my arm and spun me around to prevent that. "No, Jesse."

"But-!"

"No." She had both hands pushing against my back to keep me going forward. Kind of odd considering how much smaller she was than me. And, you know, dead.

When she was convinced I wouldn't go back to the school tonight, she walked on my right side next to me. I glanced down at her and noticed that she was staring at me. "What?" I was taken completely off guard when she took a hold of my shirt front and pulled me down closer to her. As in, just-inches-away kinda close. Was she going to…?

To be completely and utterly honest, I have never given nor received a kiss that wasn't entirely platonic. Sad, isn't it? I don't consider myself the hottest guy around, but decent, I suppose. As CeeCee would say, I just kind of have an exotic Latino appeal. But despite this, there has been _nada_ in the kissing department. I wasn't the type to give out kisses carelessly, and I think I've already explained about my situation with flirty girls. So here was Susannah, a beautiful but sensible Victorian lady, pulling me toward her in the middle of the night. What was I supposed to think? My mouth partly opened in surprise (and perhaps anticipation) when her other hand rose to the side of my face. Susannah said, "You're bleeding."

Well, that was equally unexpected. I said automatically, "Am I?" I touched where her hand was headed and felt a sticky wetness on my temple. That chunk of debris must have grazed the side of my head closer than I thought. "So I am." Hey, it wasn't like getting hurt was unusual in my line of duty.

"Here, stand still." Susannah reached somewhere in the folds of her dress and took out a white handkerchief. I caught the scent of white lilies as she dabbed the cut. It was a bit awkward for me to lean over like that, but she was at least a head shorter than me. Besides, I didn't dare move. I kept my eyes fixed firmly on her face since I didn't trust myself to look any lower, given both the low cut of her dress's neckline and the way I was leaning over her. She was very lovely in the moonlight. Hell, she was lovely in any light. The gaze of her bright green eyes was concentrating on my cut so I couldn't tell if she noticed me staring or not. When she was finished, Susannah handed me the handkerchief, saying that I should probably keep some pressure on it just in case.

I cleared my throat and said sincerely, "Thank you, _querida_." It was the first time I noticed I had been calling her that. My father used to call Mom that, years ago. It meant "dearest one" or "sweetheart." Even though Dad was married to Annie now, I knew that he would only use that name for Mom. For some reason, it just seemed to suit Susannah.

She didn't think so though. "Don't call me stuff in Spanish," she huffed. I could tell she didn't know what it meant, but that only seemed to make me smile. That seemed to soften her. Susannah added, "It was nothing, Jesse."

"No, really," I continued, "I really appreciate you coming out here and saving me. And well… Thank you."

Susannah looked embarrassed as she once again fidgeted with the locket around her neck as if trying to find something to distract her from me. For some reason, I thought it was important for her to know how much I appreciated her help. Even though we didn't start out on the best terms, Susannah had been nothing but helpful since then. Proud, yes, but helpful. She had even come down to the school to make sure I was all right and bandaged my wound. I've always aided ghosts in their problems, but she was the first to help me with mine. Mom popped up once in awhile to assist as best she can, but she's a mess in a crisis honestly.

She brushed imaginary dust from her dress and said, "Never mind. Let's go home."


	9. Home Life

A/N: 12 chapters in all. Already started 2nd installment and one based on Twilight preview. I won't be leaving as many notes because graduation's coming up and I'll just be stopping by to update.

Chapter 9:

Let's go home.

It had such a nice sound to it. I was eager to get back to the comfy place Susannah had decorated and my bed was waiting for me. We walked home, not meeting anyone on the way, thankfully. I don't know how often it is a guy dressed in black walks down the street with a bloody ghost handkerchief held against his head, but I didn't want to find out if people thought it was suspicious.

It wasn't exactly dark out with the city lights, something that made me miss Carmel. You can see the stars much better there. I didn't hear any birds, namely pigeons, fluttering around. Whether this was because it was night or Susannah, I couldn't tell. As we walked, Susannah mumbled, "Just goes to show old sayings can be wrong."

It was more to herself than to me, but I asked, "And what saying would that be?"

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." She went on pointedly, "Bryan back there certainly had some fury to match hell's any day. Not all women fly off the handle when handling unrequited affections."

"Speaking from experience?" I probably shouldn't have asked, but I was curious.

Susannah gave an unladylike snort, "Hardly."

I smiled. I'd like to think it was because Susannah was different from anyone I've ever met before, ghost or otherwise, which was certainly true. But the back on my mind nagged at me that it was because her response hinted that she didn't have some long lost love, for which I was grateful. Or relieved. Damn wandering mind. I replied, "It's understandable, both views. Anyone would be upset if their feelings weren't reciprocated. Murderous, no. But upset I can understand."

Susannah looked peeved at this answer for a moment, but it passed.

As we walked, I took another glance at Susannah who I could see couldn't have been more that sixteen or seventeen when she died. She seemed like such the practical type that I couldn't see her death as something caused by her own doing. Maybe a little headstrong, but she would know when to back down. She had to have been killed by someone else's hand. What Jenny had said triggered me to ask carelessly, "Hey, Susannah? How did you die?" Way to go, Don Juan. Nice use of tact.

She was quiet for a long time, just staring forward. I hastily added, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"No, it's alright," she said softly. "The building wasn't always apartments and lofts, you know. The first two floors used to be a gallery owned by my family, the Simons."

"Oh?" I tried to sound like this was new information.

She nodded and continued, "My grandparents owned it, technically, and were leaving it to me. I was staying there to learn how to handle it."

"And something happened?" I prompted.

"Yes." By that time, we had reached our building. We both looked up to the top floor, where our home was. To most people, it probably looked creepy, the uppermost eve silhouetted by the moon and all. But to me, and probably Susannah, it just seemed depressing. She turned her eyes back to me, "But it's a long story. I'll tell you another time."

"Hey! That's not fair." I know I sounded childish, but I really wanted to know more about Susannah. "What happened?"

She just laughed. It was musical. "It's too late tonight. I'll tell you later."

I started towards the heavy glass doors but turned back a bit to ask, "Promise?"

Susannah nodded and started to shimmer away, "I promise. Goodnight, Jesse."

"Goodnight, _querida_."

I heard her say faintly behind me, "I told you not to call me that." She couldn't see me smile.

When I got up to my room and I flopped into bed, I realized that I still had Susannah's handkerchief. I got up again and went into the bathroom to wash off as much as the blood as I could. It was pinkish now, thanks to the blood, but I noticed under my fingertips that it had lace. Maybe it was the fact that Susannah didn't strike me as the lace type, but this piqued my interest.

Holding it up to see it properly, I saw that it was in fact a delicate lace border, about an inch all the way around the edges. In the right hand corner were the initials SS. They were large but embroidered carefully, with tiny stitches in near invisible light pink thread. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. Young women always had these things back in those days, right? Even if they were of the, um, fiery type.

I laid out the handkerchief to dry on the counter of the bathroom and crawled back into bed. As I was falling asleep, I remembered exactly why most women had those handkerchiefs in the first place. As lovers' tokens. I didn't spend much time in that vein though, since Susannah obviously wasn't that type of girl. It was just to wipe up my bleeding head inflicted by flying rubble. That's all.

I really meant to wake up early the next morning and plan out what I was going to do to warn Shannon. But perhaps with the late night poltergeist and my musings about Susannah's handkerchief, I had forgotten to set my alarm or simply slept through it. I woke up late again, cursing, and went through my rushed routine of showering, dressing, and the sort. I still noticed in my hurry though that Susannah's handkerchief was gone. Oh well. Ghost possessions usually do that.

Carrie and Jenny arrived just as I began brushing my teeth. I let them in and they politely waited in the living room as I finished. When we were finally out the door, Carrie asked, "Forget to set your alarm clock or something?"

I sighed, "Something like that."

Of course when we got to the school, there were police cars parked out front. Jenny was ecstatic. "What do you think happened?" she asked excitedly.

Carrie frowned, "I dunno, but it can't be too serious if we still have school." I didn't say anything, but craned my neck to see what the officers were doing. One was interviewing Mr. Preston, who looked furious, while the other two inspected the debris.

Still the gossip buzzed around that day. Gina talked to me during first period, "Hey, did you hear? Someone came to the school after hours and trashed what was left of the fountain. Mr. Preston is going apeshit."

"Why?" Honestly, I don't think they could have charged me with anything if they'd caught me. The fountain had already been ruined. Bryan, Susannah, and I only broke it a little more.

She seemed to think the same thing. "Kinda immature, but there was no point callin' the cops. Some guys probably thought it would be funny to throw the pieces at each other, but one of them must have gotten hurt. There are a few drops of blood on the walkway."

"Do you think they can catch them that way?" I hoped I didn't sound nervous.

But Gina waved it off. "Nah. It takes money for a DNA test and junk. No point using it on a scant case of vandalism." I almost sighed in relief. Somehow, I think the NYC cops would be a bit harder to appeal to than the ones in Carmel.

But when the bell rang for fourth period hours later, I had much bigger things to worry about. I was heading for lunch when Jenny came running up to me, tears in her eyes. She sobbed, "Jesse, Jesse! Come quick! It's Gina and Shannon in the courtyard!"

I bolted out the doors and came across something that nearly made my heart stop. The gate to the courtyard was open, leading to an ambulance. On two gurneys being wheeled toward it were Gina and Shannon. I rushed up to them, but an officer blocked me. "That's my friend, Gina!" I explained.

"She and her friend were just in an accident," he said calmly. "They were walking through here when a piece of old ledge fell from one of the upper floors fell. Gina pushed the McKinley girl and took most of it, but McKinley still got a good hit." He started talking again about how he was contacting their parents, but I wasn't listening. I was glaring around him at a figure laughing at the other end of the courtyard. He was standing right next to Mr. Preston who looked overwhelmed by the day's events.

"You should have seen your face, man," Bryan laughed. "You burst through those doors all dramatic, pale as a ghost!"

Oh, I wanted to kill him. Or at least, hurt him as much as I could, which is actually a lot, by the way. Even without a physical body, your soul still remembers what pain is. And I wanted to reintroduce him to that. Before I could act on it though, I felt a tug at my sleeve. Jenny was standing there, tears streaming down her face. I got down on one knee and wiped away her tears with my sleeve. "Don't worry, Jenny. They're going to be alright."

She sniffled, "How do you know? All this weird stuff is happening with Shannon and now Gina…" If I was a cruel man, I would've pointed out that Jenny liked weird stuff. Good thing I wasn't.

"I just do," I replied reassuringly. "I promise. The weird stuff will stop soon." It was going to stop because I knew exactly what I needed to do now. Gina was the first friend I had made here, and he had hurt her. If I couldn't convince Bryan to walk into the light, I was going to throw him in there with an exorcism.


	10. Patients

Chapter 10:

If there was ever a time I really missed Father Dom, it was now.  I know he'd be opposed to the whole thing, but everything just seemed to work out better if he at least knew what I was up to.  I really needed an outlet and there was no one to talk to about this besides Susannah, who I really doubt would approve of this plan.  

During my postponed lunch hour, I went to the computer lab and went online to find the least complicated but legit exorcism I could find.  The best out of them was Brazilian voodoo.  Good thing the specialist didn't get too good a look at the print out.  I sought out Sarah and Steve afterward, who were also distressed at Gina and Shannon's "accident."

"I was right there, man," said Steve hardly believing what had happened. "She was three feet from me when Gina suddenly looked up and shoved Shannon away."  Sarah explained that Shannon wasn't really walking with them, but alone just a few feet away and going to lunch too.  Gina had been looking up to see if it was going to rain and saw the oncoming slab of stone.  We made plans to go to the hospital to visit them.  I neglected to tell them the other reason I was going there.

After school, I gave Carrie and Jenny the details of where I was going and both understood.  Carrie would have gone to see Shannon, but she had to make sure Jenny got home all right.  Steve, Sarah, and I hopped on a bus to the hospital quite a bit away.  We were mostly silent because of the day's events.  It really had been my fault Gina and Shannon were hurt.  I had gotten Bryan so riled up the night before that he didn't even bother to be discreet. But I was going to fix it.  I was going to haul Bryan's arrogant ass into his real afterlife and make sure he never hurt anyone ever again.

We walked to the hospital from the station at about 4:30.  Asking the front desk first, Sarah found out that Gina and Shannon were in the same wing of the hospital and we were allowed to go see them.  We trudged through the halls and found Gina's room first.  She was lying in the hospital bed, playing with the buttons that moved the upper half of the mattress up and down.  

Gina waved happily, "Hey, my crew!"  Except the vowels were stretched out to make it sound more like "maa cruuuuw."  

Steve grinned and went to her bedside, "They've got you on codeine, don't they?"  Sarah also joined Gina's side.  

"Hell, yeah," replied Gina with that goofy grin. "Hey, Jess, I think some of that superhero rubbed off on me.  I hardly knew what I was doing until I felt that giant stone crushing me."  I tried to smile amenably, but I must've looked hurt since she went on, "Aw I'm joking, Jess.  I'll be good as new in a few days.  Nothing serious."

I went to her other side and said sincerely, "I'm glad to hear it, Gina."

Gina hit me playfully on the arm, "Don't look at me like that, Jesse.  Save that for your lady love.  I hear she's just a few rooms down."  

I straightened up. "Thanks.  Will you guys be all right here?  I need to speak with Shannon."

She waved me off, "It's cool, Jess.  Just promise me something.  You will show me this kick-ass apartment of yours when I get out of here."

I laughed, "Of course, Gina."

Shannon's room was only five rooms away from Gina's.  The door was wide open and I stepped on to the threshold, but no further.  The reason was because the room was already full.  At least half of the senior class was in Shannon's room.  Shannon's usually giggly girl friends were crowded around her bed, tissues in hand.  The guys were hanging on the outskirts awkwardly.  I noted that Justin and Josh were also there.  Shannon saw me though and said, "Hey, Jesse."

Everyone turned to look at me.  Under all those stares, I only just managed to not step back a bit out of anxiety.  I was suddenly conscientious of my tousled hair that I kept messing with when I was nervous.  The girls didn't seem to mind me being there at all, but some of the guys gave me glares.  I cleared my throat to make sure my voice didn't squeak under the pressure, "Hello, Shannon.  Would you, um, mind if I talked to you?"

The glares intensified.  One guy asked roughly, "What's stopping you?"

I continued as polite as I could, "I'd like to speak to Shannon _alone, please."  That got some whispers from Shannon's girl friends, but the guys didn't budge._

That is, until she said, "C'mon, you guys.  You heard what he said."  And with that, all of them filed out the door, shooting me various looks I didn't bother to acknowledge.  I walked to the foot of Shannon's bed, glancing around the room.  Perhaps checking for vengeful spirits.  Her room was much nicer than Gina's, painted a light lavender and spacious for a single patient.  There was actually a window on the far wall.  She smiled up at me, although she did noticeably have the same distant-but-content glaze to her eyes as Gina did.  Must be the codeine.

"Hello, Shannon.  How are you feeling?" I asked conversationally.  I couldn't really ask for what I needed outright without break the ice.

She lay back in her fluffy pillow comfortably, "Oh, just dandy, Jess.  I should be out in a few days, but my parents don't want me to push it."  Giving an odd sort of laugh, she added, "I've been shoved around a lot recently, haven't I?"

"Yes, I'm sorry about that."

"Nah, don't be sorry.  It's not like it's your fault." Well, not all of it anyway.  Just the last part.  She sighed and looked out the window.  There wasn't much of a view, just buildings.  But since this is New York, I suppose even that isn't so bad. "I don't think I can make it, Jess."

I asked, puzzled, "What do you mean, Shannon?  Not make it?"

She laughed again, "No, not like that.  I mean for Friday.  I don't think we can go out on Friday.  As soon as I'm out of here, my parents want to move.  I guess this was the last straw after the whole Bryan thing.  Sorry about that."  I relaxed.

"It's no problem, Shannon.  But I have a question for you."  I suppose this was the best time to ask, when she was feeling open and perhaps a little out of it because of the drugs.  "Did Bryan happen to give you anything beforehand?  Like a picture or something to remember him by?"

She nodded, "Oh, yeah.  Sure." Shannon reached under her pillow and pulled out her purse to rummage through.  I had no idea girls kept so much in those things.  Was it really necessary to have that many shades of lip-gloss with you wherever you went?  

She finally found what she was looking for.  A slim leather wallet was in her hand.  Opening it, Shannon flipped through the plastic inserts meant to hold photos or cards.  Somewhere in the middle (between her free bowling pass and Friday's card), she selected a small photograph of Bryan.  He was in his football uniform, holding his helmet to the side proudly.  Kinda scary how in death he doesn't even need those muscles to beat anyone senseless.  I asked casually, "Do you mind if I borrow this?  My stepsister was thinking of doing an article about you in the school paper if you didn't mind."  Carrie really was too.  On the school paper, I mean.  She had been planning a little "bon voyage" piece when she found out Shannon was moving.

Shannon offered the photo to me. "I don't mind.  He gave me enough to fill a telephone booth anyway."

I took the picture of Bryan and stuck into my back pocket, thanking her gratefully.  All I needed now was a quick stop to my place for candles (I had some leftover from my previous years of ghost busting) and I'd be set.  Turning back to her, I smiled and said, "I wish you the best of luck, Shannon."

She grinned back, "It's really too bad, Jess.  They don't make 'em like you anymore."  I suppose that was a compliment, so I politely inclined my head and quietly left.

Walking back to Gina's room, I saw that Steve and Sarah were standing outside of her door.  Sarah informed me that Gina's family had arrived, so they gave them some privacy.  Her parents and all five brothers came.  _Five brothers.  No wonder Gina was such a tough girl.  Her family life practically demanded it.  Gina's mom told them that we could visit her tomorrow after she was fully rested.  _

As we left the hospital and waited for the bus, it was pretty dark.  The winter season making daylight hours shorter and all.  Even though there weren't many stars to be seen due to the bright lights of the big city, the moon was full and lustrous from its borrowed light.  A single glowing beacon in the inky sky.  I was strangely nostalgic for those sunsets in Carmel.

Steve must have noticed me staring since he leaned back on the bench, also basking in the serenity, and asked, "Been a strange week, hasn't it?"  I nodded silently, still looking at the moon.  "You really are a hell of a guy, Jesse."

I turned to look at him, "What do you mean by that?"

Sarah smirked, "He means it's too bad we only met you yesterday, Jess.  You're… different from everyone else here.  And we only get you for a semester."

"A semester isn't too bad."  I didn't comment on the other part.  Being different goes two ways.  And if they meant it in a good way, I wasn't really one to take compliments well.  They just made me feel awkward.

Steve nodded, still leaning back and smiling broadly. "And we'll make it the best damn semester ever.  Starting with seeing this place of yours, Jesse, when Gina gets out."

The three of us sat there for a few more minutes, staring at the moon, until the bus came.  In those few minutes, I thought that just maybe things would 'different.'  

Oh, and how different they were…


	11. Because

Chapter 11:

Steve, Sarah, and I picked up some fast food burgers on the way home since we had missed dinner. I promised to meet them tomorrow for another trip to the hospital before parting ways with them. After that, I made a late night stop at a butcher's for chicken blood before heading home. I swear it looked like something on Angel, weird guy purchasing blood on the night of a full moon. The butcher himself didn't seem to mind though. Just another sale.

So then I found myself standing just outside of my apartment, hoping to every deity there is that she wasn't in there. Susannah, I mean.

I opened the door and took a glance around the living room and study. Nothing. A few books were off the shelf and on the table, but otherwise there was no sign of her. I heaved a sigh of relief and made a beeline for my room. I quickly rummaged in my closet for the box of ghost busting items I had packed. Into the duffel bag went some white candles, a paintbrush, the chicken blood, and some other items I'd rather not mention. Just in case any of you are foolish enough to try this at home. I don't care how haunted or experienced you say you are, this sort of thing can go awry easily and the only blood on my hands will be chickens', not yours.

Anyway, I packed the necessities and decided to catch some sleep before the event. I set my alarm clock for 11:30. Unfortunately when I woke up, the beeping alarm wasn't the only thing I heard.

"Isn't it a bit early for school, Jesse?" Sitting up, I saw none other than Susannah, who was perched on the corner of my bed nonchalantly. Her green eyes were bright and her head was tilted at me in mock curiosity.

Rather than answering her, I sighed heavily and got up, reaching for my duffel bag and pulling on my shoes. She didn't take kindly to being ignored.

"Jesse de Silva, what are you up to?" She sounded somewhat playful as if chiding a younger sibling, but she obviously wanted a good answer.

I replied shortly, "Out."

The she raised an eyebrow at me and stood up, her skirts ruffling on the bedspread. Her playful tone was gone. "What do you mean, out? Are you going back?" She, of course, meant the school. Perhaps she thought I had given up after last night, but there wasn't even a chance of that now.

"If you must know, yes I am." At this point I had left my room and was halfway to the door. Susannah had followed me so I turned around and added, "If you know what's good for you, _querida_, you'll stay away from there tonight. Bad things are going to happen and I don't want you to get caught up in it."

She looked angry now. "Stay away? What are you planning, Jesse?"

I turned back to the door as I responded simply, "An exorcism."

Susannah appeared suddenly in front of me and held me back from the door. "An exorcism, Jesse?! That's madness! You'll get yourself killed! Or worse!"

"So?" I answered harshly. "Bryan can't get away with this, Susannah."

Her expression changed from anger to confusion. "Get away with what? What happened today, Jesse?" I couldn't look her in the eye, but she got it anyway and held my shoulders tightly. "Bryan hurt someone, didn't he? Who was it? Carrie? Jenny?"

I frowned as I remembered how pale Gina looked when she was unconscious. I said vaguely, "Friends from school, alright?" I took a deep breath and continued, "Look, Susannah, I have to do this so if you know what's good for you, you'll stay _away_." At the last word, I brusquely pushed my way to the front door and slammed it closed. I could swear I heard Susannah yelling at me through it, but paid it no mind as I approached the elevator.

Taking the familiar path to school, I noticed that yellow police tape had been wound around the chain link fence that separated the courtyard from the street. Yeah, right. Like that would stop me. Vaulting over the fence, I set down my duffel bag and got to work. Again, I am not telling you what I did and with what materials. Too dangerous, end of story. Not this story, that is, the exorcism explanation one.

Once I was done painting the chicken blood, I was still murmuring the enchantment when I heard the familiar rough voice say, "What the hell are you doing?" Although you can be certain he didn't say "hell." When I didn't answer, he roughly shook my shoulder and said, "Hey, I'm talking to you! Where'd you get that picture from?"

I set down his photo in the center of the ring of candles and finished my chant. I finally answered him calmly, "I'm setting things right, Bryan."

He eyed me warily. "What do you mean by 'right'?"

"I mean that I'm letting you go back." Looking back on this, I admit I was being a bit weird, talking levelly in half-truths and whatnot. But hey, two people were hurt and I was upset, all right?

Bryan's eyes went wide in surprise and (I'm sad to confess) hope. He asked, "You mean it? Everything will go back to the way things were?"

"Yes. I just need you stand there, by your picture, and close your eyes." I pointed at the ring. His picture was there, propped up on a stone and illuminated by the light of the candles.

He complied quickly and started talking. "It'll be great to end this, you know. I was getting tired of not being seen by anyone. Once Shannon hears I came out of death for her, she'll be begging for me to come back. Don't you think so, De Silva?"

I wasn't listening though. I was eyeing the swirling vortex that was opening above Bryan's head. It had an ominous red glow and tendril-like smoke was creeping out from the edges to reach for Bryan. However, Bryan chose that moment to open his eyes and ask me, "Hey, are you listening?"

"Close your eyes!" I shouted back, but it was too late. He spotted the red smoke wrapping itself around his wrists and ankles and with a loud obscene curse, jumped out of the ring.

That's it. Easy as pie, the vortex started closing up again as Bryan furiously yelled at me, "What the hell was that, De Silva?!" Before I could say he was answering his own question, his eyes narrowed, "You were sending me away, weren't you?!"

He made a gesture to hit me, but I got there first. I slammed my fist into his nose, hearing the satisfying crunch of nasal cartilage tearing. Bryan was taken completely off guard, not knowing that I could touch him. He landed heavily on the ground a few feet from the ring. Unfortunately, his football background had him on his feet again and livid. He wiped his bleeding nose and said, "Oh you're in for it now, asshole…" That was when the chain fence started rattling again.

Bryan dove at me and the two of us brawled. A good hand-to-hand fight is always fine with me when battling it out with ghosts. It's unfair enough as it is that they don't have to catch a breath or worry if I break their arm, but I also have to watch out for flying objects trying to impale me. I caught Bryan in the face quite a few more times, both of us yelling obscenities. Mine might have been in Spanish though; I was too far gone at that point to have noticed.

Finally, Bryan wouldn't take anymore. While I was still getting in a good few blows, I suddenly noticed that the fence wasn't rattling anymore. That's because the entire thing had been wrenched out of the ground and flying at me like giant metal fly swatter. I left Bryan where he was and took a step back in surprise. The fence threw me back against the building. Hard. My ribs didn't break, but I knew I there would be some bruises later.

While I was pinned to the building, Bryan slowly got up and got his bearings. He was muttering "Jesus…" while checking his ghost form for obvious injury. I tried to move, but my aching ribs protested with every attempt. Bryan walked up to me, a sneer on his face. "Look who's stuck now. I bet you think you're so damn cool, De Silva." Personally, I didn't know what he was talking about. Did he really think I wanted to be down here to kick his ass into the afterlife? I could be at home with Susannah and reading a book or something. But, no. I am here, trapped against a building and being taunted by a dead guy. What a lovely way to spend an evening.

He kept talking, "Here you are, coming to my school and stealing my girlfriend and you expect me to just lie down and take that shit?" Bryan punched me for emphasis. Several times. Now, I'll have you know that I am used to taking hits and I've worked out so that the pain is lessened when stuff like this happens. But Bryan was ruthless. His throws were mostly to my gut, which were already sore from the impact of the building. By the time he was done, I thought that my insides were turned to a soft, barely-pulsing mush.

Bryan took a step back and the fence fell from me. I collapsed on top of it, on my side. As if I wasn't in enough pain, he threw in a few more kicks while I was down. I didn't give him the satisfaction of hearing me cry out though. I have more pride than that. And also more guile. I was still muttering the incantation for the exorcism under my breath.

"When I'm done with you, I'll take Shannon and this whole damn school with me too." That's when he grabbed my shirt to pull me up, and I finally got a well-placed kick below his waist. You know, _there_. Devious of me, yes, but I feel the circumstances called for it. He doubled up in pain on the ground and said with a groan, "What the hell is wrong with you?! Why'd you do that?!"

I said simply, "Because I'm the mediator." Then I kicked him into the ring of candles. Sounds melodramatic, I know, but what else was there to say?

The vortex instantly opened up again and the red smoke tendrils shot down and caught Bryan. Cursing horribly, but not being able to struggle much because of my kick, Bryan was lifted into the swirling vortex. He looked like some sort of morbid marionette puppet. As he disappeared into the mist, I looked up and thought I had caught a glimpse of stars.

But my gaze shifted slightly to the right as the ground quaked beneath my feet and suddenly I saw no more.

A/N: Too short, I know. The next chapter is much longer to make up for it.


	12. Stay

Chapter 12:

I could hardly breathe. My chest felt heavy as I attempted to get more air into my lungs. I could tell without opening my eyes that it was still dark out. I wondered vaguely what had happened until I remembered Bryan. He had done it. He had killed me. I always knew that a ghost would be the death of me. Little me in the big world, helping out the lost souls in the area and what do I get? Death.

Well, whether I was dying or already dead, it still hurt a lot. I tried to get up, but the same heavy weight kept me pinned. I opened my eyes and got an eyeful of dust. I cursed and closed them quickly again. I couldn't even rub away the offending grime because my arms were pinned by the massive pieces of one of Birchwood's overhanging eves. I was laying face down, facing the building, in the courtyard, being crushed by stone and mortar, and all I could think of was that Birchwood really needed to undergo some renovation to repair all this falling stonework. I mean really. Three cases of this already, and two of which involved the same people. That's some shoddy work. Although granted, the builders of Birchwood probably didn't count ghosts as a factor to their construction plans.

I was just pondering this when I heard someone call my name. A female voice.

I instantly panicked. What if Susannah stepped into the ring of candles? She might only spot me then come rushing over here, not noticing it. Then she'd be gone just like Bryan. Taking a quick breath of air and powder, I coughed and shouted as loud as I could, "Don't, Susannah! Stay away from here!"

But the voice screamed my name and I realized it was much too high to be Susannah. I felt someone brush the dust away from my face and I managed to open my eyes without being blinded immediately. I saw a face bordered by short brown hair. But the eyes were a dark blue and framed with glasses, not Susannah's emerald green.

Jenny looked over me and shouted, "Carrie, he's over here!" She was almost on the brink of tears again. I can imagine having two separate events in which people you know are crushed under masonry can be upsetting.

Carrie's face also came into view and she worriedly looked over the rubble pinning me. "C'mon, Jenny, help me roll this off of him." The two of them set their shoulders against it and heaved. It almost didn't work, but when I got enough room, I rolled out from underneath, jostling my bruised and pained midsection.

Breathing heavily, the three of us sat down against the the ton of rubble that could have killed me and didn't say a word. I only just noticed that the crickets in the park had started chirping again. Finally I broke the silence by saying the only thing I could. "Thanks."

"Jesus Christ, Jesse." Carrie looked at me like I was crazy, which I suppose she thought I was. I could see that she hadn't bothered to get dressed. Since it was winter, she was wearing a pajama set with just a coat thrown over. She asked, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Carrie." I sighed heavily and leaned against the cold stonework. I could have probably fallen asleep right then, but remembered where we were. "But we need to get out of here quick. Someone might've heard the commotion. I don't want you two to get in trouble." I was pretty sure that whoever was awake would have heard Bryan and me beating the crap out of each other far before the collapsing ledges, but I reluctantly started standing up anyway.

Jenny quickly stood up too and asked, "Don't you need to go to the hospital, Jesse? You could have internal bleeding! Doesn't he need to go, Carrie?" Her voice quavered a bit as she looked between the two of us.

Groaning as I felt the soreness in my abdomen, I muttered, "No hospitals, _hermanitas_. Let's just go home."

Good thing the fence was demolished, otherwise I would have needed a bit of help getting over the fence again leaving. Because of my injuries, we decided to take the bus home. All of us took the little corner in the back, away from the prying eyes of the driver and other late night passengers. Even though we were quiet for a time, you could tell Carrie was just bursting to ask what I had been doing there. She finally just came out with it and asked me if I had been up to my "old antics" again. Apparently, she had taken Dad's words to heart and thought I was some kind of Hardy Boys crime-busting freak. I just took easy breaths and let her think what she wanted. It's not like she'd believe that a ghost was up to all this.

I changed the subject abruptly, "Let me ask you a better question, Carrie. What were _you_ doing there?"

Carrie answered defensively, "Hey, it wasn't my idea. Jenny came screeching into my room about how we had to go down to the school to find you." She eyed her younger sibling suspiciously. "Speaking of which, how did you know he was down there anyway?"

I looked over at Jenny, but she refused to meet my eyes. She was just staring straight ahead with her knees pulled up to her chin.

There wasn't a doubt in my mind that the Jenny knew.

But I decided against talking about it now. Too much had happened in such a short time period. I didn't even want to talk to Susannah about it. Carrie and Jenny escorted me to my place to make sure I didn't collapse on the street and then went home as well. I tried to catch Jenny's eye, but she turned away quickly and left with Carrie. I shrugged it off and lumbered back into my apartment. I was far too tired to think properly about it and went to bed without changing.

When I woke up, I was surprised by how, well, awake I was. I was expecting to go to school in a complete daze and having to make up some excuse about my inability to walk. But it was almost the opposite. Almost.

I woke up a bit muddled, but otherwise rested. I couldn't actually sit up because of the dull pain in my ribs, so I just rolled over and looked at the clock on my dresser. 3:30. Huh, no wonder I wasn't tired. I had been asleep for more than half a day. But then I noticed another pain in my middle not related to last night's activities. I was hungry. I briefly wondered why I was shirtless and was about to swing my legs over the side of the bed when I heard a sharp remark. "Oh, no you don't!"

Susannah had appeared at my bedside and – with more force than I would've thought she had – grabbed my shoulders and pushed me back into my pillows. She looked down at me disapprovingly, "Bruised ribs, Jesse. If you move around anymore, I'll strap you down myself."

I blinked up at her, confused. Well, perhaps more speechless than confused. Susannah was very closely leaning against me still, and I couldn't help but notice we were on my bed. My mind quickly righted itself as she let go and sat back up, crossing her arms. She had that small frown on her face, as if hesitating, and continued saying, "I've made a bit of breakfast if you still want it. I wasn't sure when you'd get up." I nodded dumbly.

Susannah swept out of my room quickly and left me there, slightly pained and blank. Had Susannah been taking care of me? The thought brought a grin to my face. A lovely girl was making me breakfast in bed and taking care of me. Well, don't get me wrong, it wasn't the fact that it was just any lovely girl. It was Susannah. Granted, she still looked like she wanted to hit me for last night, but a guy takes what he can get, right?

She came back a moment later with a tray. On it was a plate of bacon, an omelet, and a glass of orange juice. Susannah said, "The bacon and omelet are a bit cold. I would have warmed them up, but I've never actually used one of those, um, microwaves I think they're called." The bacon and omelet were cold, but I didn't care. Most of the time my breakfasts consisted of poptarts or a Nutra-Grain bar, so I ate it up heartily.

I looked up to thank her and noticed that she had been watching me eat. I hastily remembered my manners and used a napkin. I smiled gratefully, "Thank you, _querida_. It was wonderful."

She sighed in a resigned manner and sat down on the edge of my bed, "There's going to have to be a few rules around here."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Rules?"

Susannah replied, "Yes, rules. Rule number one: Don't tell anyone about me. It's hard enough as it is now that you're here. I don't need silly-minded youngsters in here trying to contact me with candles and ridiculous chants. I've had enough of that for several lifetimes."

I smiled broadly at her. It seemed that if Susannah was setting rules, then she was letting me stay. Even if this was technically my apartment, if Susannah didn't approve, I'd imagine that she'd have no qualm with throwing me out the window. I asked, "And rule number two?"

She fidgeted with her locket for a moment while still frowning in thought at me. I thought that maybe I still had a bit of omelet on my face, so I asked, "Something wrong, _querida_?" She still didn't answer and just tilted her head slightly at me. Susannah looked awfully cute that way, like a kitten trying to get something just out of reach. So instead of waiting for an answer, I asked, "Let me ask you a question then." She straightened up immediately. "Why did you wake up Jenny to go look for me?"

She knit her brow in annoyance. "How did you know about that? Did she tell you?"

I laughed, "Well, no, she didn't. But I could guess by the way she avoided the question. So, why did you do it?" I couldn't help but smile as she flustered for an answer.

"Well, what was I supposed to do, Jesse?" Susannah wasn't fidgeting anymore, but she wouldn't to meet my eye. "Bryan would have killed you!"

I raised an eyebrow at her but kept the smirk on my face, daring her to elaborate. "But wouldn't that make it easier on you then? You wouldn't have to share your apartment with the likes me if I died."

She looked appalled at the very thought. "But that wouldn't have been fair!"

"I see," I nodded in acknowledgement, "That's against your spiritual code, _querida_?"

She nodded matter-of-factly, "Of course."

Really, I should have left it at that. But before I could stop myself, I asked, "So, you didn't do it because you _like_ me or anything like that?" I wanted to see how she squirmed out of this one.

I had the pleasure of watching her redden and sputter, "No, that's not it at all! I- I just think it could have been worse, really." I probably shouldn't have laughed, but I did. Seeing Susannah flustered is quite a sight to see. Of course, this made her angry. "Well, you listen here, Jesse de Silva! I am not to be toyed with and I will not be made into a joke by the likes of you! Humph!" She made to stand up and probably dematerialize, but I grabbed her hand.

"_Querida_," I said as tenderly as I could "thank you."

Softened, but still fuming, Susannah sat back down roughly and asked crossly, "For what?"

"For saving my life." She suddenly didn't look angry anymore and I felt her relax. But then she did something I completely wasn't expecting. Susannah closed her own fingers around mine and held them gently.

She could have yelled some more, rolled her eyes, or even hit me and I wouldn't have been more surprised. But she was just sitting there closely at my side and we were holding hands. Before I could even think of what to do next, I heard the front door open and shut. A voice called, "Jesse, are you awake?" It was Annie.

I looked at Susannah who quickly pulled her hand away and dematerialized. Annie and Jenny appeared at the doorway to my room and said, "Oh, good, you are awake. I was so worried when Carrie called and said you were too sick to go to school."

I replied, "It must've just been the jetlag. I feel much better now." Although my ribs protested otherwise, this was much better than I had felt last night.

Annie looked over at the plate on my bedside. "Well, you're at least well enough to eat. I'll just clean this for you." Looking as chipper as ever, Annie swept out of the room with the plate and presumably into the kitchen.

Jenny and I were left in the room, silent. She looked more nervous than I had ever seen her. Shuffling her feet she said, "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course, Jenny," I smiled encouragingly. I was already certain of what she wanted to talk about, but might as well play along.

"About last night… I-I think I saw a ghost!" Jenny said the last part with wide-eyed fervor, as if almost not believing it herself. "I swear I really saw it, Jesse! It was cold and made a rustling noise and… and… it kept shaking me! I heard a voice in my head telling me to go get you. It was so-" Jenny couldn't even find a word for what it was, so she added pleadingly, "You have to believe me, Jesse."

I nodded. "I know. I believe you, Jenny." Ok, so I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about Susannah. But it's not like I actually told her, right? She figured it out all by herself and Susannah herself had a hand in it.

"I know it's almost impossi- what?" She had stopped midway when she realized what I had said. "You _know_? How could you?"

"Because I know her. She's…" I searched for a proper way to describe Susannah, just in case she was listening in somewhere, "_interesting_, but perfectly harmless. Well, maybe not harmless, but she wouldn't hurt us."

"But at the school-"

"That wasn't her. That was a different one, far more violent than Susannah." Jenny just sort of gaped at me, completely floored by the fact that I knew the resident ghost and was speaking so casually about her. When she remained speechless, I added, "That's why I asked you about that information, Jenny. I was curious to find out more about her."

Jenny perked up, "Oh, yeah! I brought that with me!" She hurriedly took off her backpack and hunted around for something. Finally, she pulled out a large, worn leather book entitled _Timeless New York_. "I checked this out from the library," she explained, "It had the most in it about previous owners and stuff."

She sat down next to me and we both flipped carefully through the glossy pages. Near the middle of the book, I scanned the page and my eyes fell upon the name "Simon." I pointed it out to Jenny, "Here. That's her family name."

Jenny read, "The Simon Family was once prestigious and influential among the aristocracy in New York. Owning several art galleries, the Simons came into crisis when Peter Simon fell ill and gave his only daughter's hand in marriage to Paul Slater, the son of a wealthy trade merchant." What? Susannah didn't say anything about a Paul Slater. I had to redirect my thoughts back to the book as Jenny kept reading. "Slater was a sought after bachelor but agreed to marry Simon's daughter. However, just a day before the wedding, Susannah Simon disappeared. Paul Slater went on to have many mistresses, but never actually married and both families died out."

I was going to thank her for this new, albeit disturbing, bit of information, when she turned the page and my breath caught in my throat. It was a painting of Susannah, dressed in different, more elaborate dress than she wore now. Her hair was curled so that it would drape stylishly over one shoulder. Sitting primly with her hands placed on her lap, Susannah's bright green eyes stared up from the paper in what I swear hinted the smallest of mischievous smirks. Much like my own Susannah.

I must've had an odd look on my face because when Jenny looked up, she asked quietly, "Is this the ghost?"

"Yes, this is she," I replied just as softly.

Dad came by a bit after that. The new company he worked for kept him later than he thought, but got here all the same. Annie and Jenny, satisfied that I was taking care of myself, gave us a little privacy and left.

He asked me, "Are you all right, Jesse?"

I shrugged, "Yeah, nothing serious."

"No, I mean, are you sure it's all right here?" That was somewhat of a surprise. He continued, "You could always go back to Carmel if you think New York is too much. I know it's nothing like California, but-"

I stopped him, "No, really, Dad. I'm fine. Annie and the others have been wonderful to me. Besides," I grinned at him, "I can't leave you here to fend for yourself, now can I?"

He ruffled my hair, something he had always done when I was little, and said wistfully, "If only your mother could see you now."

"I'm sure she can, Dad," I replied, "And I'm sure she wants us to be happy."

He sighed and looked out my window over the jutting city skyline. "Then we'll be happy."

I nodded, "Yeah. We will." And thing is, I really meant it too.

A/N: I know this story has been really close to the original, but I plan on pulling father and father away from that as I go on to the others. The biggest problem (length) was because Jesse didn't have anyone else to talk to about mediating like Suze did with Father Dom. Don't worry, this'll be changed soon enough. The second part might not get going for awhile because a friend of mine has the notebook with the story outlines in it. Until then, have great summer readings! (Class of 2004)


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